Governor Healey Unveils Nation-Leading Plan to Cut Environmental Regulations to Fast-Track Housing Development

Governor Healey Unveils Nation-Leading Plan to Cut Environmental Regulations to Fast-Track Housing Development 

Reforms will cut environmental review times from 1+ years to 30 days for housing projects to expedite housing and bring down costs 

MEDFORD – Governor Maura Healey today announced a nation-leading plan to cut environmental regulations to make it faster and easier to build homes in Massachusetts and bring down housing costs for all residents. These new draft regulations will speed up environmental review times from 1 year or more down to 30 days for housing projects across the state. It will be a game changer for permitting times and costs to build housing in Massachusetts. 

Earlier this year, the Unlocking Housing Production Commission (UHPC) presented a report indicating that lengthy environmental reviews for new housing developments can delay projects for months and years and can result in significant, unexpected added costs which have the potential to render projects financially infeasible.  

Amid a longstanding statewide housing shortage that has forced homebuyers and renters to pay higher prices for fewer options, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is proposing to cut the environmental review period for qualifying housing projects down to 30 days, potentially lowering the cost of housing development by hundreds of thousands of dollars and leading to faster, more affordable housing development. 

“We are bringing urgency to addressing this housing crisis, and this is a game changer for the development of more housing in Massachusetts and bringing down housing costs for everyone,” said Governor Maura Healey. “It’s our job to make sure government moves at the speed of business, and cutting these regulations will reduce review times from more than a year to 30 days and supercharge the building of homes across Massachusetts.” 

“Getting housing built can take too much time and too many resources. These proposed reforms will make the review process more straightforward and reduce the kind of delays that drive up costs,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “By creating more certainty and cutting down on unnecessary steps, we can get homes under construction faster.” 

“After months of analysis and cross-agency collaboration, we are teaming up across state government to speed up housing production,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “These changes will move critical housing projects from plans to reality much faster and will actually help us ensure that we’re incentivizing the kinds of housing we need the most – dense, energy efficient, and resilient buildings – while upholding our high environmental standards.” 

“Massachusetts has a housing shortage that’s driving up costs. That's why this administration is working across government to make it easier and more affordable to build,” said Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “Today’s proposals would reaffirm vital environmental protections while building more homes faster. This means more options for renters and homebuyers and greater affordability for residents across the state." 

“We don’t have to choose between building the housing we desperately need and protecting the forests, farmlands, wetlands, and biodiversity that makes Massachusetts one of the best places to live in the country,” said Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer. “This plan will deliver more units, faster, and smarter, with long term energy cost savings for homeowners and renters.” 

Governor Healey has made increasing housing production and lowering costs a top priority of her administration. Since taking office, nearly 100,000 new homes have been built or are in development. She passed the state’s most ambitious housing legislation in history, eliminated forced renter-paid broker’s fees, put hundreds of acres of vacant state-owned land out to bid for housing, launched an office to housing conversion program and tax incentive, and increased housing development tax credits to create thousands of homes in Gateway Cities. 

Streamlining Review 

Projects that meet the qualifying housing criteria will be able to move quickly through review by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office. Rather than requiring developments of a detailed Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the proposed rules will allow qualifying housing projects to complete MEPA review with only the simpler Environmental Notification Form (ENF). This change will allow qualifying projects to cut the review process down from 1 year or more to just 30 days. Requirements for advance notice and community outreach will be maintained to ensure transparency and engagement, as supported by the UHPC. 

Additionally, an appeal of a local wetlands order would no longer trigger MEPA review for single-family homes. Review of urban renewal plans that do not propose individual projects will also be reduced to a 30-day ENF filing. 

Overall, these draft regulations go beyond recent changes to environmental review processes in other states by allowing developers to qualify for quicker approvals while still addressing critical climate and environmental concerns. These MEPA reforms emphasize a simpler and less restrictive self-verification process, which will enable faster approvals.  

Qualifying Housing Criteria 

To incentivize critical housing development while protecting the environment, housing projects must meet seven criteria to qualify for the streamlined process:  

• Housing-Centered: At least 67 percent of a project must be for a residential purpose, with the remainder being used for related commercial uses; 
• Dense: Must meet certain unit per acre thresholds for different types of housing; 
• Land-Efficient: Projects may alter up to 5 acres of undeveloped land, or up to 10 acres with a tree preservation and replanting plan; and Priority Habitat, Prime Farmland, and carbon rich forest must be avoided; 
• Flood and Erosion: All new developments must be constructed outside the current floodplain and other highest hazard areas and redevelopment projects must build outside highest hazard areas and follow resilient design principles; 
• Energy Efficiency: Projects must comply with energy efficiency standards set out in the stretch code; 
• Utility Access: There must be enough water supply, wastewater capacity and energy infrastructure to support the project; and, 
• Transit-Oriented: Developments must limit the extent of new traffic, with higher thresholds if located near transit. 

These regulations complement other streamlining measures outlined in the Mass Ready Act, Governor Healey’s legislation aimed at strengthening state infrastructure and streamlining permitting. 

Ecological Restoration 

The new regulations also aim to simplify the process for certain ecological restoration projects that have important environmental benefits but do not qualify for existing streamlining, such as cranberry bog restoration and partial dam removals. An estimated 23 percent of these projects filed with MEPA since 2022 would now only require an ENF, with more projects anticipated to take advantage of streamlining in the future.  

The draft regulations were filed with the Secretary of State’s Office and are available for public comment. 

The agency is inviting public feedback on the draft regulations until 5 p.m. on October 31, 2025. There will be virtual information sessions and public hearings on October 14 and 15, 2025. More details are available at https://www.mass.gov/regulations/301-CMR-1100-mepa-regulations.